Jill Soloway had the audience almost in tears as she took to the stage to accept the award for Best Television Series (Comedy or Musical) and spoke about tragic teenager Leelah.

Leelah killed herself by stepping onto a busy road in Ohio, USA, in the early hours of December 28.

Soloway kicked off her speech by saying: "This award is dedicated to Leelah Alcorn and transgender people who died too young."

Leelah Alcorn

The ground-breaking Amazon series Transparent tells the story of a Los Angeles family whose patriarch, portrayed by Jeffrey Tambor, is in the going through the transitioning to living as a woman.

Jill held the award in the air while surrounded by cast members and those who worked on the series and told the audience: "Maybe we'll teach the world something about authenticity, and truth, and love."

"To love," she added.

Producer and writer Jill Soloway (4th R) (Image: Reuters)

Jeffrey Tambor won the award for Best Actor in a TV Series, Musical or Comedy for his portrayal of Maura Pfefferman in the film.

He said: "I want to dedicate my performance and this award to the transgender community. Thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you for your courage. Thank you for your inspiration. Thank you for your patience. And thank you for letting us be apart of the change.”

Leelah left a letter on the blog platform Tumblr in which said she would "never be happy" and claimed her parents had refused to support her desire to transition at the age of 16.

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